On 6 May King Charles III will be crowned at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony that has its origins dating back a thousand years to King Edgar the Peaceful. It will also be the first coronation in nearly 70 years and much like his mother Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation which was the first to be televised, Charles III’s coronation will be the first to utilise both social media and YouTube as well as traditional communication channels.
Since the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the ascension of King Charles III to the throne, there has been a lot of speculation about what his coronation will be like; ranging from the sensible for instance, what sort of coronation will it be owing to the current economic climate? to the ridiculous and fanciful such as what tiaras will be worn. It has also not been helped either by the continuing drama surrounding Prince Harry and his wife Meghan – will they attend the coronation or not? Only time will tell if they do turn up or not.
From initial press reports (many of which should be taken with a pinch of salt anyway), the coronation will be markedly shorter, the ceremony will be around an hour and a half compared to 4 to 5 hours in 1953. Due to costs, the Coronation Review of the Fleet has been scrapped and Queen Camilla has returned to the pre-1831 practice of using a previous consort’s crown instead of having a new one made. There’s also the acknowledgement that the Britain of 2023 is very different from 1953, as politicians and peers have reportedly been told that they will not be guaranteed invitations.
Contrary to popular belief, the coronation is not a ceremony that is unchanging or set in stone. True, there are some elements such as the recognition and anointing that remain more or less the same but certain parts of the ceremony have been altered or removed to fit the changing times and make concessions to economic realities. Any cost cutting has its historical precedent – for instance when William IV did away with certain practices such as the coronation banquet, the King’s Champion making an appearance in full medieval armour and axing the position of herb strewers – ladies who proceeded the Sovereign’s route inside the Abbey by strewing sweet smelling herbs and floral petals.
Changes to the coronation ceremony have also been made especially in the last century, as there is the acknowledgement that the main role of the Monarchy is to act as a unifying force and that the coronation is for the people regardless of status, colour & creed, not only for the aristocracy and members of the Established Church.
In the run up to the event on 6 May, we shall be looking at three of the coronations that took place in the last century, how they have changed, how they have left their mark for the 1953 ritual and how they can influence the upcoming ceremony.
KING EDWARD VII AND QUEEN ALEXANDRA:
When the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra was scheduled for 26 June 1902, there was a general state of speculation about what the coronation would be like since the last one took place in 1838 and hardly anyone who witnessed it was still around by 1902.
The new king (unlike his mother) loved ceremony and pomp. Anna Keay observed that, “he loved the theatre and had a strong sense of both drama and romance.” This love of theatre was corollary to Edward’s strong sense of the importance of the visibility of the monarch and the royal family to the public. As he remonstrated with Queen Victoria, “the more people see the Sovereign, the better it is for the country.” As king, he revived much of the pomp and ceremony abandoned by Victoria after Prince Albert’s death and his renovation of Buckingham Palace was to reassert its status as the centre of the monarchy and to fulfil its main function of welcoming and entertaining guests from all over the country, the Empire, and the world.
Despite King Edward VII’s love of pageantry, he felt that many aspects of the ascension and coronation ceremonies were out step with the times. He objected to the anti-Catholic wording in the ascension oath and when told that it would not be possible to change it, got his own back by mumbling through the words: thereby signifying his disapproval of the continued prejudice against many of his subjects and his desire to be a “king of all the people.” For the coronation however, he was persuaded by the courtier Reginald Brett, Viscount Esher that its “ancientness was precisely what gave the occasion its solemn majesty, and that he should retain, even enhance ‘all the ancient practices and traditions,’ omitting only those that were actually ‘ridiculous.’”
In the run up to the coronation, Edward VII was not feeling well, and doctors diagnosed an abscessed appendix. He was persuaded to undergo an operation, but the king refused, telling his doctor Sir Francis Laking, “the Coronation cannot be postponed. I won’t hear of it. I cannot and will not disappoint the people…..I will go to the Abbey on Thursday if I die there.” To which the doctor replied, “If Your Majesty did go on Thursday to the Abbey in all human probability you would die there.” In the end the king reluctantly gave way, the coronation was postponed to a later date, and the operation was performed in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace.
Despite the postponement, Edward VII insisted that regional celebrations and the planned Coronation dinner for London’s poor should go ahead. He and Queen Alexandra paid for the festivities and meals out of their own pockets while businesses and wealthy friends such as Sir Thomas Lipton also contributed. The dinner was bolstered by food prepared for the postponed banquet which the king ordered should be given to the poor to avoid waste. One wonders what the poor of London made of the amounts of lobster and other rich foodstuffs they were served together with the regular fare of roast beef, potatoes, and ale.
The coronation was finally held on 9 August and as most of the representatives from other countries had left London due to the postponement, the ceremony had more of a domestic and Empire wide flavour as various African chiefs, Indian princes & sultans from Malaya joined the Dominion prime ministers in Westminster Abbey. Despite the postponement, Edward VII still felt weak, and parts of the ceremony had to be shortened further to avoid any strain and fatigue. Much to his disappointment, the king was crowned with the lighter Imperial State Crown rather than the St Edward’s Crown which was heavier. Ironically, Edward VII would have the opportunity to wear his namesake’s crown when it was placed atop his coffin in 1910.
Despite the solemnity of the occasion, Edward VII saw the lighter side of things. As he and Queen Alexandra made their way down the stairs at Buckingham Palace, he saw his grandchildren looking at awe in him. He approached them with a smile and asked, “Good morning, children. Am I not a funny looking old man?” At his insistence, a special section of the Abbey was allocated for his special lady friends and previous and current mistresses which the wags described as “The King’s Loose Box.”
The actual ceremony went smoothly despite a few mishaps, as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Frederick Temple refused to delegate some of his duties despite his great age and infirmities. Throughout the ceremony, Temple had to be supported by two other bishops as he was struggling with his legs and during the actual crowning, his hands were shaking so badly that he placed the crown the wrong way round on Edward’s head and the king had to discreetly turn it around the right way. Temple’s eyesight was also so bad that he had to read the service from large scrolls written in large print.
When the time came for the peers to perform their homage, it was George Prince of Wales who went first and observers noted that as George rose, his father pulled him closer to him and kissed him on both cheeks, a sign of the affection the king held for his only surviving son.
As for Queen Alexandra, the question was regarding her role in the ceremony and what she would be wearing as the last Queen Consort to be crowned was Queen Adelaide in 1831 and hardly anyone who witnessed that event was still alive to recall it. While courtiers scrambled to find records of previous coronations to ascertain what role the new consort would play, Queen Alexandra was seemingly unconcerned with precedent especially with regards to dress. Which was unsurprising as ever since the Danish-born queen came to Britain to marry the future Edward VII in 1863, Alexandra had been known for her beauty and style – other women copied what she wore and for the coronation, the new queen had a clear idea of what she wanted, “I know better than all the milliners and antiquaries. I shall wear exactly what I like and so will all my ladies – basta!”
Alexandra was in her way a rule breaker and unlike her mother-in-law Queen Victoria and her daughter-in-law, Queen Mary she didn’t exclusively patronise British designers and stores for her clothes. For the coronation Morin Blossier, a Parisian dressmaker, made Alexandra’s gown from fabric produced in India and designed by the vicereine of India, Lady Curzon. The gown was two pieces made up of a boned bodice and a long skirt, from a cloth of gold and over it a net of Indian embroidery containing the motifs of the British Isles and the Empire. Completing the gown were long hanging sleeves and a standing collar that was trimmed with gold lace. The only part of her coronation ensemble that was British made was her robe of state made by Marshall and Snelgrove but instead of the traditional violet and crimson, it was in petunia purple. The robe was carried by eight pages of honour instead of the traditional maids of honour. Unlike the maids of honour who were the daughters of dukes, marquesses and earls, Alexandra’s pages were drawn from all ranks of the aristocracy and gentry.
For her crown, Alexandra decided against the traditional four full arches and decided to have eight half arches as a nod to her homeland, Denmark. Denmark was also reflected in one of the pieces of jewellery she wore – a replica of the Dagmar Cross which was given to her by her uncle Frederick VII on her wedding day. On her crown as well was the Koh-i-Noor diamond which later adorned the crowns of Queens Mary and Elizabeth in 1911 and 1937 respectively. However, there is an intriguing mystery about the many of the stones in Queen Alexandra’s crown; we know that the Koh-i-Noor was removed and replaced with a crystal version but the way the other stones were placed would have made it difficult for jewellers to prise them out without damaging the frame. Suzy Menkes who closely examined the crown now held at the Tower of London mused:
Can it be that Queen Alexandra (“I shall wear exactly what I like…..Basta!”) chose to be crowned with a lightweight more comfortable crown rather than to have her head weighed down with real stones? Did the splendid, stately Queen Alexandra, a vision of Majesty in her maharajah’s ransom of jewellery, became Queen of England before God and her King in a crown of paste? (p. 49)
Perhaps Menkes has a point here as it wasn’t only comfort that Queen Alexandra seemed to be after during the Coronation but also a mix of religious belief and vanity. Due to Temple’s frailty, it was decided that the Archbishop of York, William Maclagan would preside over the crowning of the queen. Prior to the ceremony, Alexandra had a meeting with Maclagan to go over the ceremony and was anxious with regards to the anointing. Traditionally, the oil would be poured on the head but as the queen would be wearing a toupee to conceal her thinning hair, she was worried that the liquid would damage the hairpiece. Maclagan solved the problem by anointing Alexandra over the forehead and according to Consuelo Duchess of Marlborough, one of the canopy bearers, the queen didn’t flinch when the oil trickled from her forehead down her nose.
When Alexandra was finally crowned, it was the cue for the 400 peeresses in the congregation to put on their coronets and since they were also wearing tiaras, they had to arch their hands high to put them on. The sight of 400 white gloved hands high in the air in an almost balletic fashion was one of the highlights of the ceremony; as it was when following the short ceremony, Queen Alexandra wearing her crown and carrying both the consort’s sceptre and ivory rod, dropped a deep bow as she passed her husband the king. As Jane Ridley observed, “[Alexandra] was fifty-six, heavily made up, allegedly bald and almost stone deaf, but she seemed like a queen from a fairy-tale.”
LEGACY:
The 1902 coronation would set many of the templates that would be followed in subsequent coronations. On Edward VII’s orders, the coachman’s box in the Gold State Coach was removed and the carriage was driven by postillion riders to enable the crowds to get a good view of him and the queen as they drove past. The box was never returned and since then, the coach has always been driven postillion style.
A new state landau was also built for a post-coronation drive down the East End of London and its large body was built to accommodate the king’s rotund frame. This carriage has been widely used since then for various state and ceremonial occasions.
Edward VII’s coronation also saw the first large scale participation by soldiers from the Empire and Dominions which again would be a defining feature in subsequent coronations.
However, the biggest legacy of the 1902 coronation was in music. Sir Frederick Bridge, the man in charge of the music for the coronation, decided to use music from the great English composers of the 16th and 17th centuries – Thomas Tallis, Orlando Gibbons and Henry Purcell as well as those from the 19th century such as Sir Arthur Sullivan. There were also new commissions from contemporary British composers such as Sir Walter Parratt and Sir Hubert Parry. The latter has had the most impact on the ceremony as his version of “I Was Glad” together with the traditional “vivats” as performed by the King’s Scholars of Westminster School has been used in subsequent coronations.
An even bigger impact was Edward Elgar’s music. Although he was not commissioned to contribute to the music during the actual coronation service, he composed the Coronation Ode with words provided by the poet, essayist, and academic A.B. Benson. It was commissioned for a gala concert at the Royal Opera House on 31 June 1902 which was subsequently cancelled because of the postponement. The ode eventually had its debut performances at Sheffield and Bristol where it was well received. As Jeffrey Richards wrote:
The Coronation Ode of 1902 is ceremonial music of the first rank, the lyricism and splendour animated by genuine emotion and belief….[i]t is a celebration of monarchy and a hymn of hope to all the virtues and qualities that were expected of the new reign – peace, prosperity, freedom. (p. 63)
The sixth movement of the ode has now lived on as “Land of Hope and Glory” as Benson modified the original lyrics which included the famous chorus that has remained sung to this day at sports events and the Last Night of the Proms.
Further Reading:
David Duff. Alexandra: Princess and Queen (London, 1981)
Richard Hough. Edward and Alexandra (London, 1992)
Deidre Murphy and Cassie Davies-Strodder. Modern Royal Fashion: Seven royal women and their style (London, 2015)
Colin McDowell. A Hundred Years of Royal Style (London, 1985)
Kate Strasdin. ‘Empire Dressing: The Design and Realization of Queen Alexandra’s Coronation Gown’, Journal of Design History, vol. 25 no. 2 (2012), pp. 155-170
Suzy Menkes. The Royal Jewels (London, 1990)
Jane Ridley. Bertie: A Life of Edward VII (London, 2013)
Richard Davenport-Jones. Edward VII (London, 2016)
Anna Keay. The Crown Jewels: The Official Illustrated History (London, 2012)
Jeffrey Richards. Imperialism & Music (Manchester, 2001)
Matthias Range. Music and Ceremonial at British Coronations: From James I to Elizabeth II (Cambridge, 2012)
Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan. The Glitter and the Gold (New York, 1953)
David Starkey. Music and Monarchy, BBC documentary, first telecast on BBC 2, 2013
Enough of this Tomfoolery! 